


Be the Very Best

by Eccentric_Musician16



Category: K-pop, VIXX
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pokemon Fusion, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-08
Updated: 2016-11-08
Packaged: 2018-08-29 19:52:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8503183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eccentric_Musician16/pseuds/Eccentric_Musician16
Summary: The day Sanghyuk got his first Pokémon was a day none of them would ever really forget.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I literally have no excuse for this other than why not?

“What do you think it’ll be?” Sanghyuk asked, face pressed against the clear glass of the incubator.

He’d certainly never seen an egg like this before. And he’d seen a lot of eggs during his time at the Daycare Center.

Across the room, Jaehwan was brushing down his Sylveon’s fur. The Pokémon’s eyes were closed in pure contentment, making happy little squeaks with each pass of the brush.

Jaehwan shrugged, not looking up from his task. “Who knows? It’s definitely not any Pokémon common to the region, I’d recognize the pattern otherwise.”

He put the brush down, carefully running a hand over Sylveon’s back to check for any knots he may have missed. “Looks like you’re all done. How does it feel Sylveon?”

Sylveon shook out its fur, turning back to the breeder yipping excitedly as it nuzzled under his chin.

He laughed. “Just try not fall into any more mud pits today, hm?”

Sanghyuk chuckled at the way Sylveon vigorously nodded. One of its feelers wrapped itself securely around Jaehwan’s wrist.

With one last glance at the egg, Sanghyuk dropped down on the nearest seat. “Does Taekwoon have any idea?”

Right on cue, Taekwoon came into the room, his Furret at his heels. The little Pokemon chirped happily at the sight of Sanghyuk and scurried across the room. It jumped into Sanghyuk’s lap and made itself comfortable.

“Hi there,” he said, patting its head. “And hi to you too, Taekwoon.”

The head of the daycare smiled. “Hello Sanghyuk. I’m assuming you stopped by to check on the egg?”

“Hongbin said that it should be ready to hatch soon.” He paused. “Or, at least that’s what his cousin told him. The timing seems about right.”

Taekwoon hummed. “We’ll keep a closer eye on it. You know Nurse Joy is rarely ever wrong.”

He looked around the room. “Speaking of, where is Hongbin? I wanted to get his second opinion on some things.”

Sanghyuk pointed towards the back door. “He’s out back. Jaehwan mentioned how someone had dropped off an Alolan Vulpix and he practically jumped at the chance to see one for himself.”

“Of course he would,” Taekwoon rolled his eyes. Sanghyuk could see the fondness in them though. “You mind watching the egg for a bit while Jaehwan and I go meet him.”

“Sure.” Sanghyuk scratched under Furret’s chin. “We’ll keep watch, right?” It looked back towards its trainer with big eyes, giving Taekwoon a cheerful chirp.

With a fond shake of his head, Taekwoon scratched behind its ears. “Fine. You’re in charge Furret. Keep the kid from doing anything stupid.”

“Hey!” Sanghyuk yelled. Taekwoon left with a smirk while Jaehwan laughed loudly, his Sylveon at his side.

“Jerk,” Sanghyuk grumbled. Furret gave him a sympathetic look.

 

+++++

 

The sound of the doorbell distracted Sanghyuk from the book he was reading. Furret’s ears perked up, jumping out of his lap to scurry up to the door.

It scratched at the door, turning back to him and making a demanding noise.

“I’m coming, I’m coming.”

When Sanghyuk opened the door, he had about a second to notice the two visitors before an abnormally large Houndoom mercilessly tackled him to the ground.

“Holy cra-“ Sanghyuk yelled as the fire-type started happily licking his face in greeting. “What?”

“Houndoom!” the Pokémon’s trainer shouted. “You can’t just tackle people like that anymore, you’re a lot bigger than before remember?”

Houndoom moved back, looking down at Sanghyuk with an apologetic look on its face as sat back on its haunches.

Sanghyuk sat up, Furret tittering worriedly at his side as he tried to make sense of what had just happened.

“I’m so sorry about that. Houndoom still forgets that it’s not a Houndour anymore.”

Sanghyuk shook his head, shaking the confusion away as he looked up to get a proper look at the visitors.

His face broke out into an elated smile at he recognized the pair.

“Wonshik! Hakyeon!” He took Wonshik’s offered hand and stood up. The trainer pulled him into a firm hug.

“Hey there Hyukkie,” Wonshik ruffled his hair as they pulled apart. Sanghyuk swatted at his hand. “How’ve you been?”

“Great!” Sanghyuk turned to the slighter man just behind the trainer, a gorgeous Ninetails sitting gracefully at his side. “I didn’t know you guys were back in town.”

Hakyeon smiled, pulling Sanghyuk into a soft hug of his own.

“Felt like it was time to take a little break from all the traveling.” His smile widened as Sanghyuk bent down to greet Ninetails, the fox Pokémon was tenderly nuzzling at Sanghyuk’s chin in response. “Besides, any longer and I think the homesickness would have gotten to us. So we thought we’d surprise you guys!”

“I can see that,” Sanghyuk said. He continued to rub behind Ninetails’ ears as he turned back to see Wonshik petting a panting Houndoom. “And I can see Houndour evolved. Congrats you two!”

“Thanks!” Wonshik looked down at the Pokémon with pride. “Evolved during our last gym match and boy, was it a sight.”

Houndour wolfed, pushing up into Wonshik’s hand.

Sanghyuk stood. “You’ll how to tell us about everything you guys’ve been up too.” He waved them into the daycare. “Well come on in. The others are all in the back!”

 

+++++

 

“So, how has the Contest circuit been Hakyeon?” Taekwoon asked. Furret was perched on his shoulder, its long body curled around his neck.

“They’ve been great. There’s a lot more coordinators from other regions participating this year, so contests have been especially interesting!” Hakyeon piped. “I only need one more win to qualify for the Festival.”

“The town over is holding a Contest next week, right?” Jaehwan hummed, petting Sylveon as it lay on his lap.

“Exactly,” Hakyeon continued. Ninetails was resting its head on his knee, eyes closed in relaxation as Hakyeon smoothed down its fur. “Wonshik and I thought it’d be the perfect opportunity to stop by for a visit.”

“And you’ve finally gotten all eight gym badges Wonshik?” Hongbin asked, putting down his cup of tea and brushing his pink bangs out of his eyes.

“Yeah!” Wonshik replied. Houndoom was lying at his feet, dozing. “We’ve still got a few weeks until the League, so we thought we’d come back home for a little R&R.”

“Man, you’ve been busy,” Sanghyuk said.

“Pretty much.” Hakyeon waved him off. “But that’s enough about us, what about you all? What have you been up since we’ve gone.”

Hongbin cleared his throat. “Same old, same old really. My cousin has been helping study for the upcoming medical exam. So I’ll hopefully get my license by the end of the year and really be able to start helping out around the Center.”

“Same thing with Taekwoon and I,” Jaehwan said. “Outside of the occasional odd event, things have been quiet at the daycare. We’re getting new Pokémon practically everyday!”

Taekwoon nodded in agreement, currently too preoccupied with shoving cookies into his mouth to say anything.

“You guys are no fun,” Wonshik whined. “What about you Sanghyukkie? Anything interesting up?”

Sanghyuk shrugged. “Not much. Just splitting my time between helping out here and at home.”

Hakyeon frowned. “You still haven’t gotten your trainer license?”

“Haven’t had time.” Sanghyuk looked down at his tea, avoiding Hakyeon and Wonshik’s shocked eyes. “At this point, I’m wondering if I should even bother.”

“But you’ve wanted to be a trainer since we were kids,” Wonshik said lowly. “I know you chose to put it off since your sister got sick, but she’s better now. I’m sure she and your parents wouldn’t mind.”

Sanghyuk shrugged again, there was a more resigned air to it this time. “I’m almost seventeen you guys, it’s kinda late to start now. I might as well, just let that go.”

“But-“

“Wonshik,” Sanghyuk said through gritted teeth. “Just let it go.”

Wonshik was about to push, not about to let Sanghyuk brush this under the rug, when he was interrupted by a loud crash coming from outside.

“What the hell?” Jaehwan stood, looking out the kitchen window. He made a face at what he saw.”

“Uh, Binnie? You might want to check on your Pokémon. Because they’re doing something… well… it’s certainly something all right.”

Hongbin moved to his side, eyes widening at what he saw.

“Deerling! Minccino!” he bellowed, “what have I told you about using your abilities to play pranks?”

He rushed out of the room, the back door slamming shut as he raced to stop his Pokémon from causing any potential property damage.

The rest of the group was silent, not really sure how to reply.

When Hongbin returned he had a pouting Minccino in his arms. The little Pokémon looked upset that it’s trainer had spoiled its fun.

The deer at Hongbin’s side mirrored the expression, nipping at Hongbin’s jeans to show its annoyance.

“Don’t give me that,” his eyes narrowed. “You two know better.”

With a huff Minccino squirmed out of Hongbin’s arms, scurrying to Sanghyuk’s chair and giving him its best baby-doll eyes.

Sanghyuk instantly knew what it wanted, bending down to pick of the fluff ball and setting it on his lap. Minccino tittered, making itself comfortable against him.

No one in the room missed the smug smirk it threw at its trainer.

Hongbin rolled his eyes. “Sure, be that way you little rodent. Honestly, you have no one to blame but yourself for getting in trouble.”

Sanghyuk chuckled lowly, resting his chin on Minccino’s soft downy fur. “Like Pokémon, like trainer huh?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.” Sanghyuk said. He sounded far to innocent for it to be believable. “Nothing at all.”

The situation had properly distracted everyone from the proverbial Donphan in the room. Sanghyuk didn’t want to talk about it, and probably never would.

The fact that he was seventeen and had yet to get his license still stung. He’d been looking forward to it for years, every since Taekwoon and Hakyeon and gotten their own licenses. And that excitement only intensified once Jaehwan, Wonshik and Hongbin got certified as well.

He’d ready to get his first Pokémon on the day he’d come of age. It was only a few weeks away, so close he could practically taste it.

But then, his sister got sick, and everything changed.

His parents had still be supportive, ready to send their youngest child off on his journey. They and his sister encouraged him to go, saying that she would be fine and would recover in no time.

But Sanghyuk had always been an observant child, even at that age. He’d seen the stress lines at the edge of his parent’s eyes. Noticed how paler and weaker his sister got with each passing day.

So, on the day he was eligible to get his first Pokémon, he’d forgone his chance and decided to stay and help his parents and sister.

Sanghyuk’s grip on Minccino unconsciously tightened, causing the little Pokémon to look up at him, squeaking curiously. 

He never regretted his decision, never held it against his family for something that was out of their control. Life just dealt them some sucky luck and they had to move on from that.

But sometimes, as Sanghyuk watched his friends with their Pokémon, talking about their travels and all the experiences they’d had together, he couldn’t help but wonder about what could have been.

 

+++++

 

When Sanghyuk returned to Taekwoon’s daycare a few days later, hoping to check on the status of their mystery egg, he didn’t expect it to be completely empty.

“Hello? Taekwoon?” He looked around, dropping his backpack near the door. “Jaehwan?”

The next few minutes were spent fruitlessly searching for any sign of the daycare owners. He couldn’t even find Hakyeon or Wonshik.

A horrible sense of dread pooled on his stomach. Jaehwan and Taekwoon never left the center unattended. 

He was about to call Hongbin, hoping his older friend would know what was going on, when heard a panicked titter at his feet. He felt something soft, ribbon like wrap around his wrist.

There was only one thing it could be. “Sylveon?”

Jaehwan’s Sylveon chirped anxiously, tugging him in the direction of the backdoor. Stadning beside it were Hongbin’s Minccino and Taekwoon’s Furret, looking just as distressed.

Without thinking, Sanghyuk burst out the backdoor, Sylveon at his heel, hoping nothing was wrong.

He saw Taekwoon and Jaehwan in the center of the daycare’s backyard field, the pair were holding themselves with an air of caution. Behind them were Wonshik, Hakyeon and Hongbin, they seemed just as on edge.

Sanghyuk jogged to them and was about to call for them when he noticed they were facing a peculiar group of people.

He’d certainly never seen them before. One man, obviously the leader, was looking at Taekwoon with an expectant, smug grin. The three people surrounding him, his followers, Sanghyuk assumed, were blank faced and serious.

“How cute,” the leader sneered. “That two daycare owners and a couple brats think they can take us down. Just adorable.”

“All we want are the Pokemon you have at this lovely daycare. Is it really too much for a hunter to ask for?” He sighed dramatically at Taekwoon’s unwavering glare. He pulled out a Pokéball. “Fine then, let me show you just how out outmatched you are.”

He threw it; the sound of the ball bursting open and bright energy assaulted everyone’s senses.

When the light cleared, an enormous Marowak glared them down, it’s bone club spinning threateningly in its hand. The two ends alit with a bright blue flame.

Hongbin made a little noise at the back of his throat. “That’s-“

“Alolan Marowak.” Jaehwan said, stunned. The sound of its trainer’s voice made the feeler Sylveon still had wrapped around Sanghyuk’s wrist tighten. “Ghost and Fire dual type, a lot of people consider them to be even more territorial than their mainland counterparts.”

“Ah good. That means you’re aware just how strong Alolan Marowak are. Certainly a different beast than what you’re used to.” He motioned to his followers. 

The hunter’s cronies released their Pokémon: a Drapion, a Gengar, and an Alakazam. Sanghyuk tensed as he heard Syvleon growl.

“We’ll be taking these Pokémon,” one of them sneered. “And there’s nothing you can do to stop us.”

Taekwoon growled low in his throat. “Think again.” He pulled out a worn pokéball from his belt, quickly enlarging it.

“Come out! I need your help!”

The energy soon faded away to reveal Taekwoon’s oldest and strongest Pokémon.

Absol shook out its fur, the gold brace wrapped around its foreleg jingling lightly as it did so. It immediately fell into a battle stance, ready for its trainer’s orders.

Hakyeon frowned, reaching for his belt. “Not while we’re around,” he said.

Wonshik didn’t say anything, pulling out his own pokéball as he simply glared at the thieves.

Two more streams of energy dissipated to reveal a Gardevior and a Lucario. The psychic type had a silver collar around its neck, while the fighting type sported a bronze armlet around its upper arm.

“Jaehwan.” Hakyeon looked back, eyes widening slightly at the sight of Sanghyuk. “Hyukkie? When did you-?“

“Marowak, Shadow Ball!”

Hakyeon snapped out his shock. “Gardevior, Light Screen!”

A shimmering green wall of psychic energy materialized in front of them, blocking the Shadow Ball from making impact. 

“Never mind. Jaehwan!” he gritted. “You, Binnie, and Hyukkie get the Pokémon somewhere safe. We’ll handle these clowns.”

“Right.” Jaehwan turned to the younger two. Syvleon wrapped one of its free feelers around Jaehwan’s wrist. It kept the grip it had on Sanghyuk’s as well. “You heard the man, let’s go.”

Hongbin and Sanghyuk nodded. They sprinted to the daycare building, ushering some of the smaller Pokémon along with them.

They could hear the sounds of the battle starting behind them.

Hakyeon and Wonshik flanked Taekwoon on either side as Gardevior’s Light Screen dissipated, their Pokémon mirroring their movements.

“You ready?” Taekwoon asked, reaching for one of his earrings.

“Of course,” Wonshik answered, pulling his sleeve back to reveal a bronze bracelet. It looked similar to the one Lucario had.

In the center was a beautifully colored stone, glinting in the sunlight as if waiting to be used.

“Then let’s go.” Hakyeon finished, brushing over the small stone set into one of his silver rings. It began to emit a golden light.

The stone on his Gardevior’s collar began to glow with a blue light.

Taekwoon and Wonshik followed him, activating their own stones and the stones on their Pokémon.

“Mega Evolution!”

 

+++++

 

The three stormed into the daycare, allowing the Pokémon to stream into the building before Sanghyuk slammed the door shut behind him.

“Lock all the doors and windows,” Jaehwan order. He ran to the living room window and immediately began bolting it shut, drawing the curtains closed once he was finished. “If they can’t get in, then they can’t reach the Pokémon in here.”

Sanghyuk and Hongbin, Minccino firmly perched on his shoulder, didn’t even question him, dashing down the halls to find any open doors or windows.

Furret stayed behind, doing its best to comfort the panicked Pokémon.

Jaehwan turned to Sylveon, petting down its back. “Do you mind looking after Hyukkie for me?”

Sylveon jumped to attention, giving him an enthusiastic chirp before running after Sanghyuk’s form.

Once Sylveon was gone, Jaehwan pulled out two pokéballs. “Guys, come out!”

A flash of energy and a Plusle and a Minun stood before him.

“If anyone who isn’t Taekwoon, Hakyeon, or Wonshik tries to come in, you have my permission to shock ‘em.” At the pair’s surprised looks he scoffed. “Desperate times call for desperate measures. Can you do that?”

The electric Pokémon looked to each other, a determined set to their faces before they looked back at Jaehwan with a nod.

Jaehwan nodded back. He looked to the direction of the backdoor, intently listening for any signs as to how the battle was progressing.

He knew his friends were formidable trainers and that they could handle themselves. Their battle skills were nothing to shy at.

But still.

Jaehwan couldn’t help the feeling of dread that refused to go away.

 

+++++

 

Sanghyuk had just finished locking the last of the doors in the hall. He decided to take a quick peak into the incubation to make sure it was secure as well.

He flicked the lights on, bringing the room into view. The mystery egg was still securely tucked away in one of the incubators and he didn’t notice anything out of place.

On a whim, he came up to the incubator, hand brushing against the glass. It was comfortably warm to the touch.

The sound of footsteps broke him out of his reverie.

“Jaehwan? Hongbin?” He asked, turning around and ready to scold the two for startling him.

He froze; eyes as wide as a Deerling in headlights as he watched the hunter and his Marowak stalk towards him.

“No, I’m afraid not brat.” He crooned. “So how about we make this easy and hand over the egg, hm?”

Sanghyuk backed up against the incubator, trying to keep the egg out of view. “Nice try,” he voiced wobbled, “but no.”

The hunter sighed. “Well then, no one can fault me for trying to be civil. Marowak.” The Pokémon raised its bone club in attention. “Get rid of him.”

Sanghyuk paled as the Pokémon closed in on him, the flames on its bone club getting brighter and brighter with each step.

He was about to scream for someone, anyone, to help him when a pink blur tackled Marowak, knocking it back and away from Sanghyuk.

With a feral snarl Sylveon planted itself in front of Sanghyuk, blocking Marowak from getting near him again.

“Sylveon!” Sanghyuk cried with relief.

The hunter roared. “Marowak, get rid of the pest. Shadow Ball.”

“Sylveon, Dazzling Gleam!”

Sylveon’s fur began to glow with an almost blinding ethereal white light. It concentrated into a small sphere of energy right in front of it.

Marowak formed its mass of dark energy, throwing it towards the pair once it was fully formed.

“Now!” Sanghyuk yelled.

With a cry, Syvleon released the energy sphere. The two opposing energies collided in the middle, causing a small shockwave of loose energy to push everyone off their feet.

Sanghyuk coughed, trying to regain the breath that had been knocked out of him. He could feel Sylveon wrap its feeler around his wrist in an attempt to comfort him.

He heard two pairs of frantic footsteps echo down the hall. Hongbin and Jaehwan were frantically calling his name.

“Sanghyuk! Sanghyuk, are you ok?” Hongbin screamed, barging into the room with Minccino hot on his heels. Jaehwan scrambled after him, Plusle and Minun perched on each shoulder, cheeks sparking with electricity.

What they saw made them freeze in their tracks.

The shockwave had caused the glass of the incubator to shatter and the egg to be knocked off center. To the horror of everyone in the room, it wobbled precariously on the edge.

“Oh Arceus,” Jaehwan breathed.

Time seemed to stand still for a split second as the egg slowly rolled off

“Someone catch it!” Hongbin screamed.

Without thinking, Sanghyuk ran for it, throwing himself towards the falling egg. He let out a pained grunt as he slid across the floor, only just stopping it from hitting the ground.

Everyone froze, staring wide-eyed as the momentary horror and panic of the moment passed.

Sanghyuk gawked at the egg in his hands for a few long seconds before letting out an audible sight of relief. “That was close,” he exhaled. He slowly sat up, leaning back against the base of the incubator and cradling the egg against his chest.

Sylveon rubbed up against his side, pushing up under his chin.

They were all so distracted by the near disaster that none of them saw the deranged smile that crossed the hunter’s face.

“Bone Rush.”

With a yell, Marowak threw its flaming bone like an oversized boomerang. It sliced through the air, leaving behind a fiery path it its wake.

It was headed directly towards an unsuspecting Sanghyuk.

Jaehwan screamed. “Sanghyuk! Look out!”

Sanghyuk’s head snapped up, eyes widening at the approaching attack. He had no time to move, so he did the only thing that came to mind.

He turned around, pulling Syvleon and the fragile egg towards him as he curled around them, trying to shield them with his body. He clenched his eyes shut, trying to block out the fairy Pokémon’s whimpers of distress and bracing himself for the blow.

 

+++++

 

A few seconds passed, Sanghyuk was sure something should have happened by now.

But everything was still and silent. He wasn’t feeling any bone-crushing impact or mind numbing pain. He was just fine.

Confused, he cracked an eye open, slowly uncurling. “What?” he breathed, looking over his shoulder, a struggling Sylveon and the egg still tilted away from the possible danger.

The bone had stopped a few inches away from him, frozen in mid air. It was surrounded by a purple outline of light.

Psychic. That’s psychic, Sanghyuk’s mind pointed out.

A quick glance around the room showed Hongbin catching a Pokéball. His Mismagius was gritting its teeth at its eyes glowed purple, it’s powerful psychic attack the only thing protecting him from a world of pain.

Jaehwan immediately took advantage of the situation.

“Plusle, Minun. Helping Hand!”

The twin electric types surrounded Mismagius, hopping and cheering for the ghost type. Mismagius smirked, the glow of its eyes intensifying.

“You know what to do Mismagius,” Hongbin said.

With a mighty yell, the ghost type used the added power from the Helping Hand to throw the bone back in the direction it had come from.

With a yelp, Marowak was hit by it’s own attack, causing it to stumble back into the hunter.

“Why you,” he growled, scrambling back up. “You!“ He screamed. “Marowak Overheat!”

A bright stream of blue flame went directly towards Hongbin and Jaehwan’s Pokémon, but it was blocked at the last moment by a glowing wind.

Hongbin, Jaehwan, and Sanghyuk smiled with relief as Mega Absol landed daintily before them. The wings coming from it’s back blocked Mismagius, Plusle and Minun from view.

Taekwoon entered the room, every movement screaming murder. “I wouldn’t try anything if I were you.”

Mega Gardevior and Mega Lucario surrounded the hunter. He let out a cry of surprise.

“We sent those grunts of your packing,” Wonshik boasted. “So I suggest you take their example and hightail it out of here.”

The hunter growled. “Marowak use Magn-“

Wonshik glared. “Bone Rush.”

Mega Lucario molded a long bone-shaped staff out of its aura. With the precision of a trained fighter, it intercepted Marowak’s club, stopping it from smashing into the floor and causing it to go off balance and knock the hunter to the ground as it fell.  
Hakyeon huffed. “I’ve got it from here.” He stepped towards the pair, eyes half lidded in annoyance. “Gardevior, could you be a dear and teleport these two to Officer Jenny? I’m sure she’d jump at the chance to get all these losers behind bars.”

With an approving smile and a graceful bow, Mega Gardevior reached for the hunter and his Pokémon.

The hunter roared. “Why you-“

The three disappeared in a flash of light.

Sanghyuk tilted his head in curiosity, petting Sylveon behind the ears to calm the shaken Pokémon down. No doubt Jaehwan was going to have words with him later about recklessly putting himself in the line of danger.

“When wi-“

With a pop and a flash, Mega Gardevior reappeared. Its expression was one of sly amusement.

“Oh, never mind.”

Hakyeon mirrored his Pokémon’s expression. “Thank you dear. And excellent work in today’s battle.”

Mega Gardevior was momentarily engulfed in a white sheen, reverting back to its normal form when it faded. Gardevior hummed happily, giving Hakyeon a deep bow in gratitude.

From the corner of Sanghyuk’s eye, he saw Mega Lucario and Mega Absol return to their normal forms as well.

“Good job, Absol. Wonderful as always,” Taekwoon said, petting the dark type’s head. It closed its eyes and leaned into the caress.

“Awesome job as usual Lucario,” Wonshik reached out, he and his Pokémon exchanging enthusiastic fist bumps. “That Bone Rush was particularly impressive.”

Lucario crossed its arms, chest puffing out in a show of pride.

Hongbin was scratching underneath Mismagius’ chin. “You really saved the day, buddy.”

Sanghyuk nodded. “Yeah thanks Mismagius, and you two Sylveon. I doubt I’d be ok now if it weren’t for you two.”

The two Pokémon chirped excitedly in reply.

“Holy fucking shit,” Jaehwan said suddenly, hand over his heart. He winced when Plusle and Minun tugged at his hair, not approving of his eloquent choice of words. “I was literally this close to having a heart attack.”

Wonshik made a soft keening noise in agreement.

Hongbin moved closer to Wonshik, his Minccino reaching over to sympathetically pat the trainer on his shoulder.

“Well, look at it this way. It can’t get any worse,” Hongbin said.

As if on cue, the egg in Sanghyuk’s arms started glowing.

“Oh,” Sanghyuk breathed. He looked up at his friends in mild alarm, not knowing what to do. He could feel it shaking in his grasp.

The white glow from the egg was so bright he could barely make out their equally startled expressions. 

He heard Taekwoon’s low whistle. “You just had to say something, didn’t you Binnie?”

“Oh shut up.”

Eventually, the glow died down, revealing the newly hatched Pokémon resting in Sanghyuk’s arms.

“Is that a-?” Hakyeon whispered.

Wonshik nodded dumbly. “Yeah. Yeah it is.”

Everyone held their breath as the baby’s eyes blinked open, blearily looking up at Sanghyuk.

They watched as a soft smile crossed his face. “Hey there little buddy,” his voice softer than they had ever heard it before. “Welcome to the world.”

The baby looked at him a little longer before letting out a content squeak, closing its eyes again and pushing itself as close to him as possible.

They all watched with baited breath as the baby’s breathing deepened, happily falling asleep.

They stayed still, making sure that the little Pokémon was deeply sleeping. Once he deemed it safe enough, Hongbin stepped forward, bending down in front of Sanghyuk to give the baby an initial once over.

“Well,” he whispered, “I won’t be able to say anything definitive until I can give a proper check up, but it seems like a healthy baby Pokémon to me.”

He looked up at Sanghyuk, taking in the still somewhat dazed expressions and smirking. “So Sanghyuk, how does it feel to be the mother of a newly hatched Pokémon?”

The choking sound Sanghyuk made would give them blackmail material for years to come.

 

++++++

 

Warmth.

It was the first thing the little Pokémon felt as it left the familiar darkness of its egg; a lovely, soothing, warmth that made it feel safe and protected. It couldn’t resist the urge to lean into the feeling.

With some effort, the little Pokémon’s eyes fluttered open. Its vision was blurry at first, overwhelmed by the brightness. It almost wanted to go back into the protective darkness that its egg offered; things weren’t as scary in there.

But then, it was pulled closer to the nice warm thing, surrounding the Pokémon from all sides with the pleasant feeling of security.

Its vision finally began to focus. The first thing it saw were two big brown eyes looking down at it with an emotion it couldn’t quite place. Was it surprise? Shock maybe?

But then those eyes softened; they were tender and gentle, albeit still a little scared. Although, perhaps cautious was the better word for it.

“Hey there little buddy.” The nice warm thing’s voice was soft. The sweet tenor of a young boy, it sounded pleasant to the baby Pokémon’s ears. “Welcome to the world.”

The baby Eevee let out a small chitter, greeting its new caretaker and cuddling further into his embrace. 

Huh, maybe being out of the egg wasn’t so bad after all.

 

+++++

 

“No.”

“Sanghyuk listen to me-“

“Hongbin, what part of ‘no’ do you not understand?”

He huffed, causing his pink bangs to flutter out of his eyes. Minccino sat on his shoulder, frowning lightly. “The part where you’re actually thinking of abandoning this baby just because you won’t man up about it.”

They were all in the daycare’s kitchen, Hongbin having stolen the table and turned it into a makeshift clinic. After a more thorough check-up, Hongbin was able to confidently proclaim that the baby Eevee was indeed perfectly healthy.

Of course, Sanghyuk had to choose that exact moment to insist that one of them take the baby.

“Bin, I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I’m not a trainer. I don’t even have a license for Arceus’ sake.” He motioned to himself, careful to not jostle the peacefully sleeping Eevee on his lap. “What good am I going to do raising a baby Pokémon when I don’t even know how to take care of an adult one on my own?”

“Not true,” Taekwoon hummed. “You’ve taken care of all our Pokémon just fine.”

Jaehwan patted his shoulder. “Yeah, and the Pokémon here at the daycare love you to bits. You’ll be fine Hyukkie!”

“B-But,” Sanghyuk stammered. “Hakyeon, Wonshik; tell them they’re crazy.”

The coordinator shook his head in fond exasperation. “It’d be unbecoming if us to lie Sanghyuk.”

“You’ll be fine Hyukkie. Just because you don’t have a license doesn’t mean you can’t raise a Pokémon on your own.” Wonshik said kindly. “And hey, if you ever need help, you know you can always come to us.”

Sanghyuk looked between each of them; panic still plainly on his face. But when he saw, the quiet confidence they all had in him he relaxed just a little.

“Maybe,” he mumbled. “But-”

A tiny yawn interrupted him. He looked down at Eevee to see it stretch out across his lap, happily snuggling against his stomach. It opened its eyes, still drowsy and sleep-dazed and gave his hand a little lick before drifting back into sleep.

Sanghyuk still didn’t know what to think about the unconditional trust that it was showing him.

“Sanghyukkie, listen. When Pokémon hatch, they have a tendency to latch onto the first thing they see. So for all intensive purposes, that Eevee considers you its parent.” Hongbin said softly. “Separating it from you would just be needlessly cruel at this point.”

Sanghyuk caressed Eevee’s fur, smoothing down any unruly patches of fur.

Sanghyuk let out a resigned sigh. How could he say no, especially after what Hongbin had said?

“Ok, fine. I give.” He pointed at the others. “But you guys need to help me.”

Taekwoon rolled his eyes, gently cuffing him across the head. “As if we wouldn’t. Raising an Eevee is an especially tricky feat.”

Jaehwan smirked softly; he couldn’t hold back his amusement at the way Sylveon was tenderly looking at the baby. “Don’t you worry kid, you’ll be fine. You’ve got a region-renowned trainer and coordinator, a Pokémon nurse in training, a breeder, and a daycare owner to watch out for you guys.”

Wonshik and Hakyeon smiled excitedly. “We’ll make sure to teach you the best battling and contest strategies,” Wonshik said.

“And even if you don’t want to go into battling,” Hakyeon, “You’ll see that the two of you are going to make a great pair. I can feel it.”

Sanghyuk smiled, allowing his friends to mindlessly chatter on about how great this was going to be.

Maybe has was being silly about this. He should be happy: the daycare was safe, everyone was ok, and little Eevee was the picture of health.

He bent down; looking at the baby with wonder as he realized this was technically his first Pokémon.

Eevee shifted slightly in its sleep, catching his hand with its front paw and pulling it close so it could nuzzle into it.

Oh Arceus, Sanghyuk thought, I’m so whipped.

**Author's Note:**

> I was planning on only making this a one time thing, but if you guys have anything you'd like to see from this world I'd totally be willing to do little drabbles in it from time to time. Because let's be honest, there's a lot I could probably better expand on.


End file.
